Search

Grade 5 Mississauga students recognized by mayor for creating innovativewebsite on renewable energy

Student team creates educational resource as part of city-wide Green Website Challenge

MISSISSAUGA, ON, June 21 /CNW/ - The Green Girls, a group of four web-savvy fifth grade students from Meadowvale Village Public School, are receiving top marks-and a visit from Mayor McCallion-for a website they designed as part of the Green Website Challenge, an educational competition created by Bullfrog Power(R). Asking students to design a website exploring the topic of renewable energy, Bullfrog hoped to increase awareness of clean energy and conservation among young people through the Challenge. The Girls' website, "Green energy: It's our future now," was selected the top site and will be linked to Bullfrog's website as well as the City of Mississauga's and act as a platform for educating Mississauga residents about green energy and electricity generation.

"We are very impressed by the quality of all submissions and the hard work that everyone put in to creating the websites," said Tom Heintzman, President, Bullfrog Power. "The Green Girls developed a creative and informative site that will help more young people learn about renewable energy and how it can help us create a cleaner, healthier environment for them-and for future generations."

Bullfrog Power and the City of Mississauga teamed up to launch the Green Website Challenge in December 2009. Over 40 students got involved in the project, submitting more than a dozen entries for consideration. Through the Challenge, students were able to learn about how energy from renewable sources compares to energy from non-renewable sources and use their web skills to help educate other Mississauga residents about conserving energy. The Challenge's panel of judges included Heintzman and the City of Mississauga's Manager of Energy Management, Rajan Balchandani, and Manager of the Environmental Group, Brenda Osborne.

"This is a great way to get our youth involved with our community," said Hazel McCallion, Mayor, City of Mississauga. "Introducing these ideas to our children ensures they become invested in protecting our environment. In Mississauga we have made it a priority to lead and promote the use of technologies that help reduce our carbon footprint and preserve our natural environment."

In recognition of their winning submission, the Green Girls and their entire class will receive a special visit from Mayor Hazel McCallion. During the visit, McCallion and Heintzman will present the Green Girls with plaques to celebrate their accomplishment. The Green Girls and their class will also receive a complimentary trip to the Ontario Science Centre where they will participate in the Action Earth program, which explores how humans are affecting the environment. All students who participated in the Challenge will receive certificates of achievement for their web design efforts.

In addition to bullfrogpowering(R) the Mississauga Civic Centre with 100 per cent green electricity, the city has installed infrared heaters, waste heat recovery systems and rink and garage lighting dimmers in various facilities as part of its energy management program.

Bullfrog Power, Canada's 100 per cent green electricity provider, offers homes and businesses a clean, renewable electricity choice. Bullfrog's electricity comes exclusively from wind and hydro facilities that have been certified as low impact by Environment Canada under its EcoLogo(M) program instead of from polluting sources like coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear. Thousands of Canadian homes and businesses are doing their part to address climate change and air pollution by switching to green electricity with Bullfrog Power.

As Canada's sixth largest city, Mississauga is home to 730,000 residents and 55,000 businesses, including 61 Fortune 500 companies with Canadian head offices or major divisional head offices. A diverse, progressive and award-winning municipality located on the shores of Lake Ontario in the heart of the Greater Toronto Area, Mississauga is one of Greater Toronto's Top 90 Employers for 2010. Enhancing its citizens' quality of life by providing superior services, revitalizing its infrastructure and conserving the environment, Mississauga is committed to innovation, operational excellence and fiscal responsibility, which is reflected in its motto: "Leading Today for Tomorrow."